Crimson
by Synthia Sylverwolffe
Summary: Blood stains the freshly fallen snow. Only one is there to save her, but will she want to hold on to life? One-shot.


It was a surprisingly quiet night. The usually bustling streets of Striaton City were almost empty, with only a few younger people traveling across the snow covered sidewalks. A few snowflakes fluttered down through the chilled air.

Cilan was just walking out of the store, two plastic grocery bags grasped in his hand. Over the formal outfit that he wore every day, he had on a black winter jacket, and a long emerald scarf, which he adjusted a bit tighter to better block out the cold.

He started walking down the street. It was only about a ten minute walk to the city gym, where he and his two brothers resided, but it was starting to get quite cold outside and the snow was beginning to come down much faster. Cilan sped up his pace.

It was when Cilan turned a corner that he began to feel a bit paranoid. He glanced around the empty area, anxiety causing his pulse to quicken slightly. Cilan attempted to shrug off the feeling.

"Everything is perfectly fine," he said quietly to himself. "Striaton City is among Unova's safest cities,"

Despite telling himself this, Cilan still felt quite nervous. The freezing wind blowing through the branches of nearby trees did nothing to ease his fear. The shaking of bare tree limbs was the only noise other than the soft crunch of Cilan's feet as he traveled through the snow.

At the end of the block Cilan stopped and glanced around nervously once more. For some odd reason he just couldn't shake the awful feeling that danger was lurking somewhere in the shadows. Cilan took an uneasy step around the next corner.

After taking a few more cautious steps, another sound hit Cilan's ears. Footsteps, soft and quick, and headed in his direction. Up ahead, Cilan could see someone running his way. It appeared to be someone not much older than he was, wearing dark shorts and a plain black t-shirt. The guy ran straight past Cilan, not even giving the gym leader a second glance. Cilan stared at him as he ran past. He sighed.

"I'll never understand why some people wear summer clothes in the middle of winter," He continued walking.

By now, Cilan felt more at ease. He was almost home and there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Even the falling snow didn't bother him, and he couldn't help but stop and admire how calm and peaceful the world around him looked while covered in fresh, white snow. A large gust of wind hit Cilan right in the face, reminding him that he needed to get back to the gym.

Cilan hadn't moved more than a few feet when he spotted the deep crimson stains marring the perfection of the snow.

Cilan didn't want to have to acknowledge the existence of all that blood. He wanted it to be a nightmare, something fake that would quickly fade away. The blood wasn't fake. It was real, and that meant someone was terribly hurt.

Cilan dropped the bags he was carrying. They landed in the snow, making a soft crunch.

Cilan dashed forward, spotting a small figure, curled up by the side of a tall building. As Cilan came closer he could hear the person's soft, quick breaths. Cilan gasped in disbelief as he got his first good look at the young girl. Her once pale pink jacket was now covered with crimson stains. Blood was smeared on her hands and part of her neck. There was so much of the dark liquid that Cilan wasn't sure where the girl was injured.

The girl's face was extremely pale; the only color was a small smudge of scarlet on her cheek. Curly purple hair framed her pale face. Cilan suddenly realized that he recognized the girl. "Burgundy!" he whispered in shock. He couldn't believe his eyes. Right there in front of him, his rival laid, her lifeblood pouring out into the snow. Cilan dropped to his knees beside her.

"Burgundy," this time he spoke louder. "Can you hear me?" Cilan's voice shook as he spoke. Burgundy's eyelids opened slightly as she made a soft whimpering noise.

Trying to move quickly but be gentle at the same time, Cilan reached forward and wrapped his arms around her. His heart broke when he heard her weak cry of pain. He needed to get her to help, but he couldn't stand the thought of putting her through more pain. He felt a tear roll down his cheek.

Cilan took a shaky breath and lifted Burgundy into his arms. He turned back the direction he had come, and raced in the direction of the Pokémon Center.

As he ran, Cilan thought back to the first time he had ever seen Burgundy. She had been several years younger then, and had come to challenge the Striaton City Gym. She had chosen to battle Cilan, and had lost. Surprisingly, Cilan had been quite disappointed at her loss.

Cilan had been both astonished and delighted when he met her again, several months later. Burgundy had declared herself Cilan's rival, and had told him that she was in training as a Pokémon Connoisseur. Of course, she was only a C-class, the beginner's rank, but she was still quite determined to reach the top rank of S-class before Cilan did, even though Cilan was two ranks above her. Cilan admired her determined nature.

When Cilan looked down at the pale, bloody girl in his arms, he didn't see a single trace of the confident young rival that she had been before. Instead, he saw utter defeat where he had once seen complete determination. It was as if the fire within her had been extinguished. Cilan forced himself to run faster.

"No…point," the sound of her soft voice almost caused Cilan to stumble in surprise. Burgundy had opened her eyes just enough so that Cilan could see their soft lilac hue.

"Should…put me…down," she said to him, her voice weak, and barely audible.

"I'm not putting you down," Cilan told her, still running. "We're almost to the Pokémon Center. You'll be okay," Burgundy closed her eyes again. "Going…to die," she told him. Cilan felt his eyes begin to fill up with tears. He couldn't let her die. He couldn't.

"You are not going to die!" he snapped. Cilan was shocked at how angry his own words came out. "You want to become an S-class connoisseur, remember?" he didn't get an answer.

"Burgundy, listen to me. If you die now, you'll never reach S-class," this time Cilan got a faint answer from his rival. "…failure," she told him. Cilan felt tears running down his face.

"No," he told her. "You are not a failure. You have never been a failure. You have always had such a determined nature, and have always been so confident. You are going to live and become an amazing trainer and Pokémon Connoisseur. I know you will," When Cilan looked back down at the girl in his arms the first thing he noticed were her fully open, tear filled eyes. Tears were already streaking down her cheeks.

"You're crying," she told Cilan, her voice much stronger than it was before. Cilan gave her a soft smile.

"So are you," he told her. Burgundy gave him a weak smile, before shutting her eyes again.

As Cilan forced his way through the doors of the Pokémon Center, he heard tow softly spoken words come from her lips.

"Thank you,"

* * *

**A/N: Well, that went better than planned. Still pretty short, but the longest chapter I've ever written. I was actually planning on having Burgundy die in the end, even though she's my favorite character, but I changed my mind at the last moment and altered it. And yes, it was the guy who ran past in Cilan in the beginning of the story who attacked Burgundy.**


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